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Tampa Bay goes back to drafting cornerbacks in the NFL draft

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Yeah, the Tampa Bay cornerbacks were as bad as you feared last year.

Consider: The team signed Brent Grimes in free agency. And Josh Henderson.

Consider: The team drafted Vernon Hargreaves in the draft. And Ryan Smith.

Smith, from North Carolina Central, was the latest player the Bucs thought was worth taking in the NFL draft. One scouting report suggested that the big schools had really missed their evaluations of Smith.

Now, he will have time to play special teams and work in as a nickelback for the Bucs.

The Bucs, trying to get better against the pass, also drafted one defensive end (Noah Spence) and signed one in free agency (Robert Ayers).

In the fifth round, the Bucs drafted offensive tackle Caleb Benenoch.

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Gary Shelton is one of the most recognized and honored sportswriters in the history of the state. He has won the APSE's national columnist of the year twice and finished in the top 10 eight times. He was named the Florida Sportswriter of the Year six times. Gary joined SaintPetersBlog in the spring, helping to bring a sports presence to the website. Over his time in sports writing, Gary has covered 29 Super Bowls, 10 Olympics, Final Fours, Masters, Wimbledons and college national championships. He was there when the Bucs won a Super Bowl, when the Lightning won a Stanley Cup and when the Rays went to a World Series. He has seen Florida, FSU and Miami all win national championships, and he covered Bear Bryant, Bobby Bowden and Don Shula along the way. He and his wife Janet have four children: Eric, Kevin, K.C. and Tori. To contact, visit garysheltonsports@gmail.com.

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